Selling to someone in another country

Rambone, you are lucky things have worked out for you. My problem was a purchase from a Canadian who neglicted to include a valid NAFTA agreement for goods manufactured in Canada. FedEx did not want to deliver the package until I hounded them for a couple of weeks, even though tracking said it had crossed the border, then the brokerage bill was huge and much larger than the quote by FedEx Trade Network. FedEx when called said FTN was an entirely different entity and they had no control over what happened with brokerage. It took over 6 months to iron out the NAFTA thing and still cost a lot, and finally, I got a bill for close to $200 in state sales tax thanks to FedEx notifying them. The tax bill was based on the insured price, not the actual purchase price (which was lower), but I just paid it to get things over with. I understand when shipping to Canada, if the buyer does not pay the brokerage (for whatever reason) the shipper will come back on the seller for those fees, and the seller will have no recourse. Yes, there are real pitfalls, but if I ever sell/buy from Canada again, I hope it is with someone as knowledgible and trustworthy as you.

Now how do you like to see this sequence of events?

* CLEARLY my ad says no non-US/Canada bidder.
* Some overseas member in Asia asking u whether u'd let him buy moments before the auction ends.
* He's got great feedback, so you provide him with details and how you might entertain a bid from him.
Then when the auction ends someone with zero feedback from that same city places a bid.
* member with great feedback then emails you immediately saying "Oh I missed the bidding but lets make a deal"

Now I need to relist the item and pay another $6.

So the question for you guys is, how do you prevent a joker-scammer from winning the high bid in an auction??

You do not need to accept the bid from the "joker-scammer" with no feedback, because you said US-Canada only. However, if there was a high bidder who met your qualifications and who bid above your reserve, then you need to sell to that person. Just because you decided to possibly entertain a bid from someone outside of your stated region, does not mean you have to accept all such bids, especially if your ad states you would not sell outside US-Canada. If you had no other offers, and you want to sell it to the good feedback guy from outside the US, have him post a wanted ad, which you can respond to. That way you can see if he is serious and you can conduct the transaction within the Audiogon system. Piece of cake.

Thanks for the advice, the "wanted Ad" does seem to be a great idea. Cheers.

Another "incident" related to international shipping

I had another ad that specifies "Ship to US Canada Japan" only.
Winner still bids on item despite my email caution of voltage and expensive shipping.
Winner wins auction, then says "out of town, will deal with u when I come back." THEN asks me to ask manufacturer for circuit map to modify voltage.
I did that for the winner as a courtesy.
The winner requested SURFACE SHIPPING (he selected Fedex economy when bidding!) to Europe.
I checked for surface shipping but found out amps too heavy for USPS (70 lbs limit) instead of FedEx Economy.
Winner asked me to dismantle amps to "Make weight"
which I refused after checking how vulnerable amps would be if dismantled (LED and switches and meters).
Lost communication with winner for a few days and then I pinged him with email that asks " am wondering if you would want to proceed with a
straightforward transaction or you'd like to back out. Your response is appreciated..."
Then very shortly afterwards I received a rude nasty-gram accusing me of not wanting to sell to him.
I am not going to post a negative feedback on the guy cos I think he will just sandblast me with negative feedbacks.